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Kyzikos, Mysia, c. 550 - 450 B.C.

Kyzikos, purportedly the first Milesian colony, was located on the southwest shore of the Propontis in ancient Mysia next to the river Aisepos. Its prosperity was due principally to its two fine harbors, which made the city a convenient stopping point for merchant ships trading between the Aegean and Black Seas. Its principal export was the tunny, of which its waters had abundant stock. The prevalence of winged beings in Kyzikene coinage is a reflection of archaic mythological convention that assigned wings to most divine or sacred entities as an immediately visible and understandable symbol of their nature, and in the case of gods, of their power to move at will across great distances. In the case of the winged animals, we should probably understand these to be attributes of or animals sacred to a particular Olympian god.SH86217. Electrumstater, Von Fritze I (Nomisma VII) 104 & pl. 3, 23; Boston MFA 1433; SNG BnF 245; SNG Cop -; SNGvA -; BMC Mysia -, VF, tight flan, edge cracks, weight 16.091 g, maximum diameter 19.9 mm, die axis 0o, Kyzikos mint, c. 550 - 450 B.C.; obverse winged dog seated left, head turned back right, curved archaic wing, wearing collar, tunny fish below to left; reverse quadripartite incuse square; extremely rare; $6500.00 (Ä5525.00)

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Ionia, c. 650 - 600 B.C., Striated Type

Mankind's first coin type with an obverse and reverse! Rare and important. The earliest dated coin hoard was deposited in the foundation of the Artemision, the temple of Artemis at Ephesos, as an offering during construction, c. 600 B.C. These earliest coins, which included this type, were struck from electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver found as nuggets in the rivers and streams of Lydia and Ionia. This striated type is the first type to have an obverse design in addition to the reverse punch. Because of its simple obverse design, it is described by some authorities as the first true coin.SH87928. Electrum hekte, 1/6 stater, Milesian standard; Weidauer 6, Traitť I 12, SNGvA 1769, SNG Kayhan 680, Karwiese Artemision I.6, SNG Fitzwilliam -, Rosen -, Zhuyuetang -, VF, light marks, earthen deposits, weight 2.293 g, maximum diameter 10.2 mm, Ionia, uncertain mint, c. 650 - 600 B.C.; obverse flattened striated surface; reverse two rough approximately square incuse punches; rare and important; $6000.00 (Ä5100.00)

Mithradates VI Eupator "the Great"expanded his Pontic Kingdom through conquest, which inevitably brought him into conflict with Rome. Mithradates regarded himself as the champion of the Greeks against Rome, however, after three years of war, he was defeated by Pompey the Great. The design of this coin is taken from a coin of Lysimachos, bodyguard of Alexander the Great, and King of Thrace 323 - 281 B.C. The Lysimachos coin depicted Alexander the Great on the obverse. The features of the obverse portrait on this type are those of Mithradates VI.SH88831. Gold stater, Callataˇ p. 140, pl. XXXVII (D3/R1); AMNG I 263; HGC 3.2 1824; SNG Cop 1089 var. (control), VF, struck with worn dies, weight 8.206 g, maximum diameter 20.8 mm, die axis 0o, Kallatis mint, First Mithradatic War, c. 88 - 86 B.C.; obverse diademed head of Alexander the Great right wearing the horn of Ammon; reverseAthena seated left, Victory crowning name with wreath held in Athena's extended right hand, resting left elbow on round shield leaning on back of seat, A∆ monogram (control) inner left, KAΛ below seat, trident in exergue ornamented with two small dolphins, ΛYΣIMAXOY downward on left, BAΣIΛEΩΣ downward on right; Kirk Davis, catalog 70, lot 11; $2200.00 (Ä1870.00)

This type was minted in Lydia, Anatolia, while under Persian control, prior to Alexander the Great's conquest. The Persian or Achaemenid Empire (c. 550 - 330 B.C.) was the largest empire in ancient history extending across Asia, Africa and Europe, including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of Central Asia, Asia Minor, Thrace and Macedonia, much of the Black Sea coastal regions, Iraq, northern Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine and Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and much of ancient Egypt as far west as Libya.

Kyzikos was founded around 675 by Milesian colonists on the south coast of the Propontis (now Marmara Sea), halfway between the Dardanelles and the Bosporus. The location was ideal for tuna fishing. Schools of tuna passed every spring to enter the Marmara Sea to spawn; schools passed in the fall going back to the Mediterranean. In the archaic period, the tuna catch was the main source of income for the city. In the 5th and 4th centuries, Kyzikos had an important role in trade between the Black Sea and Greece, especially in grain trade from the southern Russian region, which supplied the growing needs of Athens.SH89445. Electrum hemihekte, Hurter-Liewald III 5.2; SNGvA 7255 (fish above off flan); cf. BMC Mysia p. 18, 2 (hekte); SNG Cop -; SNG BnF -, gVF, well centered and struck, scratches, light earthen deposits, many small edge cracks, weight 1.299 g, maximum diameter 8.7 mm, Kyzikos (Kapu Dagh, Turkey) mint, 600 - 550 B.C.; obversehead of tuna fish left, two pellets right, smaller tuna fish right above; reverse irregular quadripartite incuse square; extremely rare; $700.00 (Ä595.00)